Soil²²² Rn Pulse during the Initial Phase of the June–August 1995 Eruption of Cerro Negro, Nicaragua

Authors

Charles B. Connor, Southwest Research InstituteFollow
Brittain E. Hill, Southwest Research Institute
Pete LaFemina, Florida International University
Marta Navarro, Instituto Nicaragüense tie Estudios Territoriales
Michael Conway, Southwest Research Institute

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1996

Keywords

cinder, cone, radon, eruption, Cerro Negro, Nicaragua

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(96)00020-0

Abstract

The June–August 1995 eruption of Cerro Negro, a small-volume basaltic cinder cone in Nicaragua, provided a unique opportunity to quantify ²²²Rn degassing from soils in response to explosive volcanic activity. ²²²Rn was monitored at 29 stations using electrostatically charged teflon ²²²Rn detectors distributed north and southeast of the volcano. A pulse of elevated ²²²Rn degassing occurred early in the eruption along a > 1 km long zone, extending at least 750 m beyond the base of the cinder cone. Observation of this ²²²Rn pulse shows that large changes in soil ²²²Rn concentration can occur simultaneously at widely separated stations in response to even comparatively small-volume intrusions and volcanic eruptions. Frequent ²²²Rn sampling at multiple stations provides a sense of the magnitude, time scales and area affected by convective gas transport during volcanic eruptions.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

No

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 73, issues 1-2, p. 119-127

Scholar Commons Citation

Connor, Charles B.; Hill, Brittain E.; LaFemina, Pete; Navarro, Marta; and Conway, Michael, "Soil²²² Rn Pulse during the Initial Phase of the June–August 1995 Eruption of Cerro Negro, Nicaragua" (1996). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 1661.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1661